Gains Amid Uncertainty:
Independent Schools Report 11.5% Return on
Endowment Assets for FY2025; 10-Year average returns rise to 7.7%
New Gifts to Endowments Rebound, Use of OCIO Increased
Norwalk, Conn., February 23, 2026 — Institutions participating in the Commonfund Benchmarks Study® of Independent Schools for the 2025 fiscal year reported an average annual return of 11.5 percent on their endowment assets. Despite political and market volatility, this marks the third year in a row of strong positive returns reported in the Study. (All returns are reported net of fees. Fiscal year 2025 covers the period from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, and coincides with the budget year of most independent schools.)
Looking at a longer time horizon is critical when assessing the financial health and sustainability of perpetual institutions. In this year’s Study, three-year reported returns rose most significantly – to 11.4 percent from 3.5 percent, on average – as they no longer account for the negative outcomes of 2022. Longer-term returns followed suit: five-year returns rose to 9.6 percent from 7.7 percent in FY2024, ten-year returns rose to 7.7 percent from 6.7 percent, 15-year rose to 8.2 percent from 8.0 percent, and 20-year, to 7.2 percent from 6.9 percent, on average.
George Suttles, Executive Director of Commonfund Institute, and Jeffrey Shields, President and CEO of NBOA, provided a statement on these headline figures: “In the midst of everything going on, independent schools continue to reap the rewards of careful endowment management. We are pleased that another year of strong market gains will help ensure that independent school endowments support students, financial aid, and operations for the long term. We are also not surprised to see an increasing reliance on external investment partners to help navigate turbulent times and secure the positive results reported throughout the Study.”
Two hundred forty-three independent schools representing roughly $17.3 billion in combined endowment assets provided data for the Study. Data gathered in the Study are aggregated for all participants and are segmented into three size cohorts: institutions with endowment assets over $50 million; those with assets between $10 and $50 million; and those with assets under $10 million. Institutions participating in the Study comprise day schools, boarding schools and schools that are a combination of both, and some analysis in the study segments data by day schools and those with boarding. Independent schools are private, nonprofit institutions enrolling students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. In the U.S., approximately 10 percent of the student population attend an independent school, according to the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).
Commonfund conducts this annual study of independent school endowment management practices and policies in conjunction with NBOA: Business Leadership for Independent Schools, the only national nonprofit association focused exclusively on fostering financial and operational excellence in independent PK-12 schools.
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